


Their Old Familiar Carols Play

by Ysabetwordsmith



Series: Love Is For Children [41]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, captain america: the winter soldier - Fandom
Genre: Be Here Now, Christmas, Christmas Caroling, Christmas Fluff, Families of Choice, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Holidays, Man Out of Time, Music, Singing, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 18:16:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9670391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: Christmas is coming.  Steve's friends urge him to take up caroling again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second freebie for the February 7, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from Dreamwidth users Stardreamer and Callibr8. It also fills the "be here now" square in [my 2-1-17 Platonic card](http://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10851738.html) for the Valentines Bingo fest.

Phil sat in the common room,  
practicing with bits of code.

Steve was working on a big pile of  
fleece scarves in various combinations  
of red, white, and blue. Meticulously  
he clipped out little stars and fringed  
the ends, tying some in knots and  
leaving others plain. As he finished  
each one, it went into a charity box.  
  
Bucky and Natasha collaborated on  
a dance piece they intended for  
the Stark Industries holiday bash.

Holiday music played softly in  
the background over the speakers,  
and Steve hummed along with it.

 _"I heard the bells on Christmas Day_  
Their old familiar carols play,   
And wild and sweet  
The words repeat  
Of peace on Earth, good-will to men!"  
  
Phil worried about Steve and Bucky,  
because even though they seemed  
to enjoy the music, it made them sad  
for some reason that Phil did not  
understand but could still see  
quite clearly on their faces.

Natasha jumped in with  
more enthusiasm than  
social skill. "Are you doing  
anything fun Saturday night?"

"Well, all the guys from  
my barbershop quartet are  
dead, so … " Steve said,  
"... no, not really."

"Gently, please," Phil said.

Natasha winced. "Sorry,"  
she said quietly.

"It's been seventy years,"  
Steve said. "Not your fault."

Tony came in then,  
towing Bruce behind him.

"Hey, did I hear something about  
a barbershop quartet?" Tony said.  
"Because Pepper asked me to find  
her some more volunteers for  
the Stark Industries caroling."

"Steve sings real pretty,"  
Bucky said, whereupon Steve  
groaned and tried to hide himself  
under his pile of scarves.

"Great," said Tony.  
"What about you, Bucky?"

"Don't look at me, I already  
_have_ a part," Bucky said.  
"Natasha and I are doing  
the duet of Clara and  
the Nutcracker Prince."

"I'm not always in much of  
a holiday mood these days,"  
Steve admitted. "It's hard for me  
to stay focused sometimes and  
not get lost in the memories."

"Believe me, I know,"  
Bruce said. "You can't  
live in the past, though.  
You need to find ways  
to be here now."

"Bruce has a point," Phil said.  
"If you don't like singing now, you  
can always quit; but if you don't give  
it a chance, you'll never know."

"Yeah, I guess,"  
Steve said. "I'll try it."

So the next day, Steve went  
to the practice session for  
the Stark Industries carolers.

Phil followed for moral support, along  
with Bucky and Natasha who brought  
a Starkpad to work on staging their scene.

Tiffany from Publicity was there,  
so at least Steve would know  
one other person besides his team.

Without a doubt, Steve knew  
all of the carols by heart --

but when he tried to sing,  
his voice broke and squealed,  
making him blush scarlet.

Steve was all for quitting  
then and there, but Bucky said,  
"I bet I know what happened.  
Your voice changed, and  
you didn't account for that."

"What did you sing?"  
the choral leader asked,  
although he had wanted  
to hear people's voices  
before sorting them out.

"Countertenor," Steve said at  
the same time Bucky said, "Treble."

Steve glared at Bucky and said,  
"I do not sing treble, men with  
high voices sing _countertenor."_

"Yeah, whatever," Bucky said.  
"My point is, you're a lot bigger now  
and your speaking voice is different.  
"When's the last time you sang?"

Steve looked away. "A long time ago."

"Well, you're way deeper than you  
used to be, like baritone or even bass,"  
Bucky said. "Why don't you try  
singing in a lower range?"

"You know I can't do that, it  
makes my chest --" Steve broke off.

"That's different too," Phil said.  
"You can sing now without risking  
your health in the process."

Tiffany put her hand on Steve's shoulder  
and whispered something that Phil  
couldn't hear, but it made Steve  
straighten up and smile a bit.

The choral leader talked to him too,  
led him through a few exercises, and  
then urged him to try singing again.

Steve's voice wandered and wavered  
for the first few verses, struggling through  
unfamiliar territory, but then it settled  
into a delicious deep baritone  
that bordered on bass.

The choral director moved him  
to a new spot, then went on  
sorting the other volunteers.

Soon they started exploring  
Christmas carols in harmony,  
voices rising and falling  
in imperfect accord.

It wasn't good _yet,_  
but Phil could tell that  
it was heading that way.

He took out his Starkphone and  
made a note to recommend caroling  
as a teamwork exercise at SHIELD.

By the time the practice session ended,  
Steve was grinning and flushed with success.  
He even agreed to let Tiffany announce that  
he was joining the Stark Industry carolers.

In the elevator on the way back  
to the common floor, Steve said,  
"Thanks for making me try this."

"I knew you'd do fine," Bucky said.  
"You always do, one way or another."

"Yeah," Steve said. "It's different --  
I don't have the same rapport with  
these people that I used to have  
with my barbershop quartet,  
but it's better than I expected."

"Give it time," Bucky said.  
"You knew those guys from  
growing up together, and  
this group is new."

"New can be good,"  
Natasha said, leaning in.

Steve hugged her, then threw  
his other arm around Phil.  
Bucky squeezed in too.

"Sometimes what people need  
is to hear their old familiar carols play,  
even if it's in a new way," Phil said.

"Yeah," Steve said, smiling.  
"Merry Christmas to all."

**Author's Note:**

> “I heard the bells on Christmas Day; their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men!”  
> \-- [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i_heard_the_bells_on_christmas_day-their_old/152000.html)
> 
> "[I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_the_Bells_on_Christmas_Day)" is a holiday carol but also a war song, written during the Civil War, so it resonates with Steve and Bucky. [Listen to it online](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOGz9WqNQoI).
> 
> Fleece makes excellent scarves. Steve is actually making a combination of these [reverse-applique scarves](http://noodle-head.com/2010/10/fleece-neck-warmers-2-ways-tutorial.html) (which require sewing) and [these knotted ones](http://momprepares.com/no-sew-fleece-scarf-tutorial/) (which don't). [The star scarves look something like this](http://www.leighlaurelstudios.com/.a/6a017d422d0eb6970c019b04097670970d-pi).
> 
> Black Widow: "You doing anything fun Saturday night?"  
> Captain America: "Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so…no, not really."  
> \-- [Captain America: The Winter Soldier](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Captain_America:_The_Winter_Soldier)
> 
> [The Nutcracker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker) is a famous Christmas ballet. Watch the [duet of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30JPHJ26XYM).
> 
> [Going around](http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-christmas/christmas-caroler1.htm) singing [Christmas carols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol) is an old tradition. The Stark Industries carolers break into teams of varying sizes to perform at hospitals, parks, and other public venues as well as calling on the homes of fellow employees and providing entertaining at SI events.
> 
> [Male voices change over time](http://www.leedberg.com/voice/pages/male.html). The [treble](http://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/centers/Wagner/documents/Treble.pdf) is a boy's voice before puberty. The [countertenor](http://your-personal-singing-guide.com/vocal-range-1.html) is the highest adult male voice, above the tenor which is the highest male voice in common use. Tiny men may hit the same notes as a boy, but they don't call it by the same name. Before Project Rebirth, Steve was very small and thin for a man, which pitched his voice high; so when he had enough breath to sing, he took the highest part in a song. Project Rebirth added at least a foot of height and a lot of mass. Afterwards, Steve's voice settled into a much lower range. Currently his [tessitura](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessitura), or most comfortable range, falls right at the bottom of the baritone. That means his functional range spans the lower part of the baritone and upper part of the bass. Steve knew that his voice had changed during Project Rebirth, but he did not account for its effect when singing, because he didn't have much opportunity for that. So when he started caroling, he naturally tried to take the same part as before, which did not work at all.


End file.
